Infant Mortality Awareness Month

September is Infant Mortality Awareness Month and here at the Wisconsin Women’s Health Foundation, we aim to decrease the prevalence of infant mortality for mothers, babies, and families in Wisconsin. One of the main causes of infant mortality is maternal smoking.

Maternal smoking more than doubles the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). 1

Babies of mothers who smoke during pregnancy are at two to three times greater risk of SIDS 1, 2

Babies exposed to secondhand smoke are at two times greater risk of SIDS 3

Maternal Smoking & Other Health Outcomes:

Prenatal Maternal Smoking

Preterm delivery

Low birth weight

Miscarriage or stillbirth

Infant Exposure to Secondhand Smoke

Risk factor for development of asthma and exacerbation of existing asthma, 4 respiratory infections, wheezing, and allergic sensitivity5

Development and increased duration of ear infections 3

Maternal Health and Well-being

Association between smoking and postpartum depression5,6

Lower prevalence and shorter duration of breastfeeding7

Association between smoking and other substance use (alcohol and marijuana)

2 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coordinating Center for Health Promotion, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2006 [accessed 2012 Mar 1].

3 Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2004 [accessed 2012 Mar 1].

4 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, Office of Health and Environmental Assessment, Washington, DC, EPA/600/6-90/006F, December 1992.